Establishing No-Discharge Zones Under Clean Water Act Section 312 (Renewal)

Forms and Documents

Forms and supporting documents for this ICR

Document	Type	Status	Availability
1791.10 60-Day Notice.pdf	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-09-15	Available
1791t10.xlsx	Supplementary Document	Uploaded 2026-09-15	Available
1791ss10.docx	Supporting Statement A	Uploaded 2026-09-15	Available

IC Document Collections

Information collection document groups

IC ID	Collection	Type	Status	Form
23656	State Agencies		Modified

ICR Details

OMB Control No: 2040-0187	ICR Reference No: 202609-2040-002
Status: Received in OIRA	Previous ICR Reference No: 202208-2040-001
Agency/Subagency: EPA/OW	Agency Tracking No: 1791.10
Title: Establishing No-Discharge Zones Under Clean Water Act Section 312 (Renewal)
Type of Information Collection: Extension without change of a currently approved collection	Common Form ICR:  No
Type of Review Request: Regular	Date Submitted to OIRA: 09/30/2026

table that charts list comparision

	Requested	Previously Approved
Expiration Date	36 Months From Approved	09/30/2026
Responses	3	4
Time Burden (Hours)	458	577
Cost Burden (Dollars)	400	548

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Abstract: Pursuant to Clean Water Act (CWA) section 312, states are authorized to petition EPA for more stringent requirements to apply within state waters for sewage discharges from all vessels, as well as certain discharges from vessels of the Armed Forces. (A) Sewage No-Discharge Zones: CWA section 312(f) and the implementing regulations in 40 CFR part 140 identify the information that must be included in a state's application to EPA to establish a no-discharge zone (NDZ) for vessel sewage for some or all of the state's waters. In designated vessel sewage NDZs, the discharge of both treated and untreated sewage from vessels is prohibited. (B) Uniform National Discharge Standards NDZs and Review of Discharge Determination or Standards: CWA section 312(n), the Uniform National Discharge Standards (UNDS), requires EPA and the Department of War to establish uniform national discharge standards to control discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel of the Armed Forces. CWA section 312(n)(7) and the implementing regulations in 40 CFR part 1700 identify the information that a state must submit to EPA in the state's application to establish an NDZ for one or more UNDS discharges. A state may seek an NDZ designation for any UNDS discharge for which EPA and the Department of War have promulgated national standards of performance and corresponding implementing regulations, respectively. Additionally, CWA section 312(n)(5) provides that that the governor of any state may petition EPA and the Department of War to review any discharge determination or standard promulgated under CWA section 312(n) if there is significant new information that could reasonably result in a change to the discharge determination or standard. The collection of information is intended to capture the burden on state respondents to develop petitions that include the required information, as well as the burden on EPA to review the petitions. The EPA’s burden estimates in this ICR are based on the regulatory requirements in 40 CFR part 140 and 40 CFR part 1700, and the EPA cannot require state respondents to provide additional information as part of the petition processes beyond what is enumerated in the regulations. This ICR is necessary to fulfill EPA’s obligations under the statute to receive and respond to state petitions; however, development and submission of a petition by a state is not required. Instead, a state must develop and submit a petition only when the state wishes to designate an NDZ either for sewage or for an UNDS discharge, or to request a review of an UNDS discharge determination or standard. The information collection activities discussed in this ICR do not require the submission of any confidential information.

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Authorizing Statute(s): PL: Pub.L. 92 - 500 1322 Name of Law: Federal Water Pollution Control Act
  

Citations for New Statutory Requirements: None

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Associated Rulemaking Information
RIN:	Stage of Rulemaking:	Federal Register Citation:	Date:
	Not associated with rulemaking

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Federal Register Notices & Comments
60-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 17272	04/06/2026
30-day Notice:	Federal Register Citation:	Citation Date:
	91 FR 60620	09/24/2026
Did the Agency receive public comments on this ICR? Yes

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Number of Information Collection (IC) in this ICR: 1

table that charts list of burden

IC Title	Form No.	Form Name
State Agencies

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ICR Summary of Burden

table that charts list of burden

	Total Request	Previously Approved	Change Due to New Statute	Change Due to Agency Discretion	Change Due to Adjustment in Estimate	Change Due to Potential Violation of the PRA
Annual Number of Responses	3	4	0	0	-1	0
Annual Time Burden (Hours)	458	577	0	0	-119	0
Annual Cost Burden (Dollars)	400	548	0	0	-148	0

Burden increases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Increase Due to:

Burden decreases because of Program Change due to Agency Discretion: No

Burden Reduction Due to:

Short Statement: There is a decrease of 119 hours in the total estimated respondent burden compared with the ICR currently approved by OMB. The decrease is due to an adjustment to the number of expected respondents, with the EPA expecting fewer applications submitted pursuant to CWA section 312(f)(3) during this renewal cycle. The EPA increased the burden hours for some aspects of petition development based on input from consultations.

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Annual Cost to Federal Government: $10,854

Does this IC contain surveys, censuses, or employ statistical methods? No

Does this ICR request any personally identifiable information (see OMB Circular No. A-130 for an explanation of this term)? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Does this ICR include a form that requires a Privacy Act Statement (see 5 U.S.C. §552a(e)(3))? Please consult with your agency's privacy program when making this determination.     No

Is this ICR related to the Affordable Care Act [Pub. L. 111-148 & 111-152]? No

Is this ICR related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, [Pub. L. 111-203]? No

Is this ICR related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA)? No

Is this ICR related to the Pandemic Response? No

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Common Form ICR:  No

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On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).

The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:

(a) It is necessary for the proper performance of agency functions;

(b) It avoids unnecessary duplication;

(c) It reduces burden on small entities;

(d) It uses plain, coherent, and unambiguous language that is understandable to respondents;

(e) Its implementation will be consistent and compatible with current reporting and recordkeeping practices;

(f) It indicates the retention periods for recordkeeping requirements;

(g) It informs respondents of the information called for under 5 CFR 1320.8 (b)(3) about:

(i) Why the information is being collected;

(ii) Use of information;

(iii) Burden estimate;

(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);

(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and

(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;

(h) It was developed by an office that has planned and allocated resources for the efficient and effective management and use of the information to be collected.

(i) It uses effective and efficient statistical survey methodology (if applicable); and

(j) It makes appropriate use of information technology.

If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.

Certification Date: 09/30/2026

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